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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

You get the feeling Ed Sheeran was struggling for a rhyme when he paired "some fella filmed me" with "[I'm] a singer-writer like Gabriella Cilmi". Still, You Need Me, I Don't Need You has long been a highlight of his live show - and the studio mix is a massive improvement.

Ed's rap sputters and sparks like a misfiring engine. Unaccompanied, it gives the track a much-needed percussive spine. Set free by a shuffling drum beat, his delivery starts to sound like Plan B - urgent and eloquent. The multi-tracked backing vocals bring colour and contrast, and suddenly Ed stops looking like a poster boy for hormonal girls in Peppa Pig back packs, and blossoms into something altogether more interesting.

For a track that's all about what it's like to be Ed Sheeran, the video bravely elects to feature zero footage of Ed Sheeran being Ed Sheeran. Instead, we get the entire track delivered in sign language. I don't know why, but it works.